MTEL Phonological and Phonemic Awareness 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which activity specifically assesses phoneme substitution, a skill emphasized on the MTEL Foundations of Reading?
- Asking students to count syllables by clapping
- Asking students to change the /b/ in 'bat' to /s/ to make a new word (Correct answer)
- Asking students to blend /f/ /i/ /sh/ into one word
- Asking students to identify words that rhyme with 'cat'
Correct answer: Asking students to change the /b/ in 'bat' to /s/ to make a new word
Phoneme substitution requires replacing one phoneme in a word with a different phoneme to produce a new word.
Question 2: How many syllables are in the word 'celebration'?
- 3
- 4 (Correct answer)
- 5
- 6
Correct answer: 4
The word 'celebration' has four syllables: cel-e-bra-tion.
Question 3: What is phonemic awareness, as distinguished from phonological awareness on the MTEL Foundations of Reading?
- The ability to understand the alphabetic principle by connecting letters to sounds
- The specific ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words (Correct answer)
- The ability to recognize rhyme and alliteration in poetry
- The ability to read words automatically without sounding them out
Correct answer: The specific ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words
Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness that focuses specifically on individual phonemes — the smallest units of sound.
Question 4: A teacher says '/m/ /a/ /p/' and asks students to blend the sounds into a word. Which phonemic awareness skill is this?
- Phoneme segmentation
- Phoneme deletion
- Phoneme blending (Correct answer)
- Phoneme isolation
Correct answer: Phoneme blending
Phoneme blending is the ability to listen to a sequence of separately spoken sounds and combine them to form a recognizable word.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of phoneme isolation?
- Saying 'pig' without the /p/
- Identifying the first sound in the word 'sun' (Correct answer)
- Counting three sounds in the word 'cup'
- Replacing /h/ in 'hat' with /b/ to say 'bat'
Correct answer: Identifying the first sound in the word 'sun'
Phoneme isolation involves identifying and naming a single specific phoneme within a word, such as the initial, medial, or final sound.
Question 6: On the MTEL Foundations of Reading, which instructional sequence for phonological awareness instruction is considered most effective?
- Begin with phoneme-level tasks and move to larger sound units
- Begin with larger sound units (words, syllables) and move toward smaller units (onset-rime, phonemes) (Correct answer)
- Teach phoneme manipulation before rhyme awareness
- Teach written spelling patterns before oral phoneme tasks
Correct answer: Begin with larger sound units (words, syllables) and move toward smaller units (onset-rime, phonemes)
Research supports moving from larger, easier units (words and syllables) to smaller, more complex units (onset-rime and individual phonemes) in phonological awareness instruction.
MTEL Phonological and Phonemic Awareness 2
Which activity specifically assesses phoneme substitution, a skill emphasized on the MTEL Foundations of Reading?